Revealed // WA Aboriginal Art Market

I was sitting on the couch last Saturday, having a coffee and skimming through facebook when an event alert popped up for Revealed: WA Aboriginal Art Market at Fremantle Arts Centre. I had earmarked the event but completely forgotten about it, so I was pretty happy that Facebook reminded me. The event had only just started so I asked Hubs if he was keen to go take a look.

Revealed is an annual event which showcases the best new art from emerging Aboriginal Artists across Western Australia. The event consists of an exhibition, artist talks and a film night, as well as the art market. An awesome initiative by both the State and Federal Government, Revealed provides incredible exposure for indigenous artists from WA Aboriginal art centers across the state and gives audiences the opportunity to directly engage with the artists and buy work directly from them.

I have always wanted to have Aboriginal Art in my home, I love the style and the meaning of each piece, and the connection to this great country of ours and it’s heritage. I have been known to drag Hubs into the Aboriginal Art galleries in Fremantle to show him what I would buy if only we had the money for it.. sigh, one day. So I was pretty keen to get down to this event and see if we could find something special for our new home. If I’m honest we didn’t exactly have the money for it, but they were advertising artworks from $50 and given it’s a once a year deal, I figured it would be worth stretching the budget a little if we found something we loved.

I’m not really sure what these ladies were creating, but I would have loved to pull up a chair and join in.

When we got there, The Arts Centre was buzzing. Packed full of people all keen to get their hands on some beautiful art. The courtyard was filled with artist stalls from various regions in WA and large canvas works were laid out on the grass for people to fight over look through. Inside, the exhibition showcased some incredible pieces from weaving, sculpture, and carving, to textile art and painting. Artists were walking around explaining their work to buyers and telling their stories. It was an incredible vibe.

My little art enthusiasts.

I love buying things for our home at special events like this because, not only does the art itself have a story, but the way we purchased it has a cool little story too that we will always remember. As much as I loved this way of buying art it was little overwhelming trying to find the perfect one when there is so much amazing work to choose from. It’s a little heartbreaking when you spot one you love from the other side of the pile and someone else walks up and grabs it. After a few disagreements and a little bit of frustration, we finally found a piece we could both agree on. When we found the one we wanted I wouldn’t let Hubs put it down in case someone else snatched it up. Ha!

A few days after the market we received an email with a Certificate of Authenticity with a little blurb about the artist and the meaning of the painting. Ours is by Miriam Atkins from Bulloo Downs near Meekatharra in the midwest region of WA. She is represented by Martumili Artists. The certificate tells us ‘This painting portrays part of the artist’s country where their family lived traditionally during the pujiman (bush) days. The Martu lived very nomadically moving from water source to water source hunting and gathering bush tucker as they went. They would traverse very large distances visiting some areas in the dry and some in the wet season depending on the availability of water. As they traveled and hunted they would also burn areas of country creating a larger diversity of plant and animal life.’